Of Closure and Vending Machine Desicions
by Mouse9
Summary: Twenty years of unanswered questions, what better time for closure than a class reunion?
1. Doctor, heal thyself

I do not own anything in this story...well maybe two or three peope came from my warped imagination, but the main characters we all know and love are property of Craig Bartlett and Snee-Osh. I just borrow them from time to time.

Seems like all my half written stories are coming back to me so here you are, hope you like it. And in case you're wondering, yes, there is going to be a sequel to this. So without further ado...here you go.

**Of Closure and Vending Machine Desicions**

She walked through the ward smiling at the children and sometimes stopping to speak to others until she made her destination.At the end of the hallway was a glass room. Inside sat a sullen ten-year-old girl; her arms crossed and a scowl on her face.The doctor waved to the nurse who buzzed her into the room.The girl glanced up as the doctor entered, a small smile appearing on her face.

"Hey. What's up doc?" She asked.

The doctor sat down at the table across from her."Well, you're in solitary. Would you like to tell me how you got here?"

"I was framed." The girl insisted. "The other girl started it."

"You attacked her."

"She called me a raving psychopath!"

So, you attacked her with a game board?"  
"She deserved it!"

The doctor leaned forward a bit.  
"Tell me what she said.' She cajoled. The girl's head dropped.

"She said…he wouldn't love me when he saw the scars." She said, her voice very quiet.

The doctor sighed. "And that's when you came at her?"

The girl nodded.

"He said he would wait," she insisted, desperately trying to believe it. "He promised!"

The doctor nodded slowly.

"And he might. But you do have to remember, you two are only ten. Things change, feelings change. You'll need to be strong enough to carry yourself. He may not be there forever."

"But he promised." The girl insisted again.

"And use that, if it helps you for now. Use him as a crutch." The doctor tapped the side of her head. "In here. But don't let him hold you back. Use him as your conscience. Then one day, you'll realize that you're standing on you own, and he's just the added bonus if he's still around. If he isn't, you'll lose nothing."

The girl thought about it, then nodded. "Okay. That sounds doable. But I'm not apologizing to that bitch."

The doctor shook her head. "What is said in group stays in group. Bringing it out is in violation of the rules and she will be disciplined accordingly. But for now, what are we going to do?"

The girl sighed heavily. "Finish my stint in solitary and not beat the crap out of anyone else. Go to group so I can get better and get the hell out of here."

The doctor smiled. "Ellen, I think you're gonna be fine."

The girls grinned back. "Thanks Dr. Helga. You coming back tomorrow?"

The blond doctor stood up nodding. "I will see you tomorrow for your appointment. Remember Ellen, no more beating the crap out of the other girls."

"Gotcha."

When she graduated High School Helga had decided what she wanted to do. So with the help of her mentor, Dr. Bliss, she packed up her bags, and with the money she'd saved from odd jobs during school and the full scholarship to the University of Vermont, she moved to Burlington. There she spent the years studying and working towards her goal. She wanted to become a psychiatrist like Dr. Bliss. She received her Doctorate, and did her internships and after fifteen years, Helga Pataki had become Dr. Helga Pataki, psychiatrist specializing in adolescents and teens. She opened her practice and got on staff at a couple of the hospitals she'd interned at during her apprenticeship.

After high school, she dived headlong into her new dream, not keeping up with friendships or even letting her family know where she was. After her goal was achieved, she called her sister to tell her. Sometimes she regretted not staying in touch with her old friends but that part of her life was over. In order to become a new person, she had to give up her old life, and old loves…well, some of them.

She pulled her car into the office building that housed her practice and got out. The day had started earlier then she expected and all she wanted to do was sort through her stuff and get some decent coffee before she first patient of the day arrived.

As she entered the reception area, Lindsey, her receptionist looked up and offered a smile.

"Morning, Dr. Pataki. Your mail is on your desk and the coffee pot is finished."

Helga offered her a return smile. "Remind me to give you a raise one of these days Lindsey."

She walked into the plush office, and shut the door. Carrying her coffee mug to her desk, she plopped down in her chair and sorted through the mail. One caught her attention. Picking it up, she glanced at it. The front just read her name and the office's address. Frowning, she opened it and her heart froze as she read the enclosed letter.

_Hillwood High is having the 20th reunion of the Class of 2008. _

_And you're invited!_

_Join us for the picnic on Friday evening at 6:00 at Tina Park by the Boat Lake._

_The reunion is Saturday, September 15th at 6:00 at Hillwood Community Center. Dinner starts promptly at 7:00 and Entertainment will follow. _

_Come join us and reunite with old friends and classmates._

_Please return your RSVP with how many will attend by July 29th._

Helga picked up her phone and dialed a number. The phone on the other end rang a couple of times, before someone picked it up.

"Jennifer? You're still in town aren't you? Good, I need to talk to you."

Doctor Jennifer Bliss looked at the invitation, and then placed it back down on the table in front of Helga. She'd come to town the week before to visit with some old colleagues and see Helga. Right now, Helga was glad she'd come.

The older woman looked at her friend and former patient and shrugged.

"So? Are you going?"

"I haven't been to Hillwood since I graduated high school." She stated.

"So this is the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends."

I don't think I have any old friends anymore." Helga said. "I didn't exactly keep in touch when I left. Besides I have responsibilities here."

"You didn't go to your 10 year, and I understand that." Jennifer Bliss said. "10 years isn't really that far out of high school, and you were still in school. But this is your 20th reunion. Personally I'd be curious to see how everyone looked." The older woman smiled. "And show some of them up with the PhD behind your name."

Helga smiled. "That would be rewarding. But I still don't know."

Jennifer moved her coffee cup and leaned towards the younger woman. She knew exactly why she was hesitant. "Helga, it's been twenty years. Aren't you the least bit curious to see him?"

Helga looked up at her a moment, then sighed. "Why do you think I'm hesitant to go to this thing? I've spent twenty years trying to forget and I still haven't managed it. The last thing I need is to go to this thing, find out he's chiseled and drop dead gorgeous and happily married to Lila Sawyer. I'd end up in a variation of the wards I visit."

"And if you don't go, you'll regret it for the rest of your life, wondering what if?" Jennifer reached over and touched her hand.

"Go. See old friends. See him and get him out of your system. I'll be in town and if you need to leave early and need a place to cry hysterically, you can call and I'll come get you. I even promise I won't check you in."

Helga laughed.

"You need to do this." Jennifer said seriously. "You teach your patients about closure. You need to practice that yourself."

Helga nodded. "You're right. Guess I'm going."


	2. To do or not to do

She spent the entire night restless and nervous. Dreams of how the reunion could go kept her up half the night. As a result, she wasn't looking all that great when she arrived at the children's ward for her appointment with Ellen.

"So I got a gold star this morning, yippee." Ellen stated. Helga nodded, writing in her notebook. Ellen leaned forward, looking at her doctor.

"And then aliens came in and used my teddy bear as a medium to speak to the jello last night."

Helga nodded absently, still writing.

"Ha!" Ellen exclaimed, slapping her hand on the table. "I knew it! You weren't listening to me!"

Helga looked up at the young girl. "Of course I was. I just knew aliens weren't going to possess bear to speak with the jello. They only do that when they need to speak with the lemon pudding."

The girl deflated, disappointed in being robbed from her conquest.  
"And for the record," Helga continued. "Congratulations on the gold star. You're only a couple more from being out of here and back home. Now, I know you got a reward for that. What did you pick?"

The girl gave off a shy smile. "The telephone."

Helga put down her notebook. "You didn't call your parents, did you?"

Ellen shook her head. "I called him."

"Was he home?"

She nodded. "I got a whole ten minutes of time with him. One of the nurses took pity on me, I think, and gave me the extra three minutes."

"I'm glad you talked to him, but Ellen, remember, you're in here because you're trying to get better. I'm not sure talking to him is going to do that."

"You don't understand Dr. Pataki. He's all I have. My so-called family doesn't care, I have no friends to speak of, and he's all I have. My reason for trying to stay sane in the first place. Without him, I'd go insane I know I would. I'd slide back into that dark abyss never able to claw my way out!"

Ellen was standing up and pacing the room. Helga shook her head towards the nurse who had come to the door and gave her a questioning glance.  
"Ellen, sit down. Trust me, I understand."

Ellen looked at her. "How can you possibly understand? He is my life, my reason for breathing every morning. I would die for him, how could you possibly understand that?"

Helga looked at the ten-year-old girl. "The rules for this room, what are they?" She asked, her tone booking no argument.

"What is said in this room stays in this room." The girl said, confused.

Helga opened her folder, taking out a small picture and sliding it across the table. Ellen picked it up and looked at it, then back at the blond woman across the table.

"Is this you?"

Helga nodded.

"Who are the other three?"

"My best friend, and the boy she liked who happened to be the best friend of the other boy in the picture."

Ellen glanced at the blond boy in the picture who was smiling at the camera. "Who's he?"

Helga smiled at the young girl. "At age ten, when that picture was taken, that boy was my reason for living."

Ellen looked up stunned.

"When I was your age, I was a bully. I ruled my classmates with an iron fist, but I was also the class' protector. I would stand up to anyone, I was scared of nothing." Her eyes went to the picture in the girl's hand. "Nothing except him. Other than my best friend, he was the only person who could see beyond the façade and see the real me. And trust me, I didn't make it easy on him. I wrote poetry about him, filled books upon books with the stuff, I had pictures, mementos. I was slightly obsessive."

Ellen smiled, leaning her head on her upturned hands. "He finally realized you loved him and you two lived happily ever after, right?"

Helga shook her head, taking back the picture, barely sparing it a glance before placing it back into her folder.

"No, that's why I'm telling you this story, Ellen. There wasn't a happily ever after. He and I were friends, nothing more. He never saw me as anything else. I eventually grew out of my bully ways, but I still loved him, in my way. He dated and I stayed behind. My senior year I realized I couldn't do it anymore. It was our last year of high school and I knew he was leaving the country once he graduated. So I studied, received a scholarship to a university out here and the day of graduation, I left. I said goodbye to no one; not my best friend, not him. I just left. And I haven't looked back since."

"Do you think the same thing will happen to me?" Ellen asked, looking very much like a scared girl.

Helga smiled. "I can't see the future, Ellen, but this is why I continue to stress that you need to stand on your own. Because however long this may last, you don't know if he will always be there for you. And if the day comes when he no longer is, I would love to see you stand strong. And to do that, we need you get you past the need to cut when your feelings get to strong."

The girl nodded. "Okay Dr. Helga." She grinned. "If you could do it, I can do it."

Helga smiled. "That's the spirit. I'll see you tomorrow for group."

Helga stood in front of the box for ten minutes, the envelope in her hand, lost in thought. To put the reply in the mail meant she was confirming her attendance. She wasn't sure she was ready for this, no matter what Jennifer had told her. The reunion was less than a month away and to day was the last day she could mail this so it could get to whomever before the deadline. If she didn't mail it today, she wouldn't be going.

To go meant she would have to face her past. That meant possibly a very pissed off friend. And him. To not go meant her class would know she was too scared to face them. And Jennifer was right, to face some of them with a PhD behind her name would almost be icing on the cake.

Closing her eyes, she made her decision. Opening the mailbox lid, she slipped the envelope in with trembling hands. She opened her eyes and stared in horror as the white paper slid down the slot and was lost forever.

It was done. She was going.

Helga stood in the doorway of the room, watching Ellen pack up her belongings.

"I will see you on Tuesday afternoon, don't forget."

"I won't. And I'm going straight home and sleeping for at least a couple of hours."

"You'll be fine Ellen." She straightened up, walking into the room. "But if you need to talk, call my exchange any time. I'm not going to be in town this weekend, but I will call you back."

Ellen paused in her packing. "Where are you going?"

Helga smiled. "Following my own advice for once. I'm going to my class reunion."

Ellen grinned, resuming her packing. "Is he going to be there?"

"Don't know. But it isn't about him. It's about me finding closure. I'm doing this for me."

"You'll tell me about it on Tuesday?"

"Depends on how you do this weekend."

Ellen closed her suitcase and turned around, smiling at the older woman. "Thanks doc."

"Don't thank me, you did this yourself."

"Are you ready baby sister?" A voice said from beyond the door. Both doctor and patient turned to see a tall thin teen boy standing in the doorway. Helga watched as the boy sauntered in and hugged Ellen.

"Oh, Ellen, I'm so glad you're coming home finally. Mummy and father will be so happy!"

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Whatever Bobby. Can we just go now?"

The teen nodded, turning his smile to Helga. "Thank you for fixing my sister, Dr. Pataki."

Helga just smiled. She picked up Ellen's suitcase and followed her to the door leading out of the ward.

"We'll talk about this on Tuesday." She said. Ellen sighed heavily.

"Do we have to?'

"Trust me. And for the record, I have the annoying older sister too."

Ellen grinned, then waved to Helga, following her brother out the door.

Helga watched her leave, and then sighed. One more day until she went home.

"I can't do this Jennifer."

"Helga. Get on that plane. Right now."

Helga stood in the airport staring at the flight board.

"I can't."

"You are the strongest person I know." The woman on the phone reasoned. "You can and will get on that plane and you will go to your class reunion and you will wow all your former classmates. Then it'll all be over and you can go home. Besides," The woman added. "How's your Tuesday appointment going to go if you tell your patient you wimped out?"

Helga growled softly. "Fine. I'm going."

"Great. Call me when you get to Hillwood."


	3. Old places and candy desicions

Helga looked out the window at the airport and began to laugh. Hillwood was welcoming back its daughter in the only way it knew how. It was raining.

Walking over to the rental agency, she received her car and waited until they pulled it up for her. Sliding in, she pulled away from the airport and headed for the inner part of town.

She drove for a while; old memories rushing back as she passed certain places. Before she knew it, she found herself in the old neighborhood. The complete opposite way of the hotel. She slowed down, looking at all the places she hung out as a kid. Mr. Green's deli was still in operation as was Mrs. Vitelli's flower shop. She passed her old grade school, which was in disrepair. Slowing the car down, she stared at her old house. The brownstone still looked the same. And she would be there tomorrow. Taking a deep breath, she looked down the street.

Down two blocks and to the left was his house. She drove down there, her heart pounding. It was stupid to think he would be there. She pulled the car over and stared at it. The old boarding house hadn't changed, although she was sure the occupants probably had. Unwittingly, her gaze went to the roof of the building. Where his room used to be.

Out of nowhere, an unrealistic fear that any moment the door would open and he would walk out of the house hit her. She knew it wasn't real, but it kicked in her long dormant fight or flight instinct. Putting the car into gear, she quickly drove off, not stopping or looking around until she reached her hotel.

Turning the car off, she sat in the car, trying to control her breathing.

"Buck up Helga ol' girl," she muttered to herself. "You can do this."

Helga walked into the hotel, and got her keys. She took a deep breath as she rode the elevator to the fourth floor. Getting out, she counted the room until she reached hers. Passing a room, she could hear a child laughing. She smiled and found her room a couple of doors down. Opening the door, she shut it behind her and dropped her suitcase. Outside it was still raining.

Part one of this weekend was over. Reaching into her pocket, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed a number.

"Jennifer. I'm here."

She left her room and walked down the hall towards the vending room. As she walked in she noticed the young boy standing in front of the snack machine looking at it as if it were from another planet. She kept her eye on him as she slid in her change and got out her soda. Finally she turned her full attention to him.

"Having trouble deciding?" She asked, breaking the silence. He looked over at her and she was struck at how green his eyes were.

I've never seen anything like this before." His said, his Mediterranean accent heavy against his English. "I'm not sure what I'd like."

She walked over, eyeing the snacks in the machine. "Well, if you like chocolate, you can't go wrong with M&M's. Nothing says yummy like candy covered pieces of chocolate."

He nodded slowly, still looking at the snacks. "I'll take your word on that."

"You aren't from around here, are you?" She asked.

He shook his head. "I'm from San Lorenzo. My dad and I are here for a visit."

Helga froze. That country was too unknown for this to be a coincidence.

"So, what do you think my dad would like?" The boy asked. "He told me to get him something, but I don't know what."

She gave him a hard look. He had to be around ten years old, with blond hair and green eyes. Fate was dropping hints on her head like bricks now. Tearing her eyes away from the boy, she scanned the candy, smiling when her eyes hit upon a green package.

"Something tells me you won't go wrong with goobers."

He shrugged again, eyes still on the machine, then at the handful of change in his hand. He looked up at her again.

"Um…could you help me with this."

"Sure." Closing the lid of her soda, she took the change from him and slid the money in, entering the correct selections and pulling the two packages of candy from the bottom of the machine.

"Go on, try them," she urged. "Tell me I'm wrong."

Opening the package, he dug one out and popped it in his mouth. His eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Hey! These are good!" He exclaimed. She smiled, opening the lid and taking another drink of her soda.

"Told you." She stated. "You need to get your mom something? Or is she just going to share you dad's."

The boy shook his head. "I don't have a mom."

Helga nodded. "Ahhh."

He gave her an odd look. "You're not going to apologize?"

She frowned. "Why? Did you kill her?"

The boy grinned. "No. It's just so far, when people hear I don't have a mom, they apologize."

"People tend to do that. That is how people deal with awkward situations, they apologize."

"Why?"

"Not a clue. One of life's great mysteries."

The boy moved the small packages and stuck out his free hand. "I'm Phillip."

She took it. "Helga. Nice to meet you. This your first time in the States?"

Phillip nodded. "My first time anywhere outside my home. Dad wanted to come and where he goes, I go." He eyed the business suit she hadn't changed out of yet. "Why are you all dressed up?"

"I haven't had time to change yet. I just got to the hotel and decided I needed caffeine." She said, holding up her bottle of soda. Phillip grinned.

"I've had caffeine. But usually it's in the form of coffee."

Helga sighed. "Coffee is a wonderful thing. Well, I'd better let you get back to your father before he come out here looking for you."

"Okay. Thank for the help."

"No problem. If you need another chocolate fix and need help, I'm in room 416, right down the hall. Bang on the door and I'll come to the rescue. No child should ever be without chocolate."

Phillip laughed. "Thanks. See you later."


	4. Home again

Friday was supposed to be the big pre-reunion picnic in Tina Park but she wasn't going. The idea of seeing these people tomorrow was already putting her stomach into knots. Seeing them tonight…not possible. Besides, she already had plans for a different type of reunion tonight.

Since her graduation from university and her acceptance into the med program part of her schooling, she'd been in regular contact with her sister Olga. Olga had surprised her by unexpectedly showing up at her graduation. After the ceremony the two sisters had gone to a restaurant and talked for six hours straight. Granted they weren't close like sister were usually portrayed in books and movies, but they had a connection. Olga had moved back to Hillwood with her two children after her divorce from her husband. She taught second grade as PS 118 and motherhood had settled her down a bit. She wasn't nearly as annoyingly perfect as Helga once thought she was. She seen her sister with bits of paper and glue in her hair; less then perfect outfits, and yelling incoherent sentences at both of her children when they had finally managed to hit that last strand of never ending patience Olga always seemed to have. For Helga, her sister had fallen off the pedestal their parents had placed her on and lived among the normal people now. And she loved her for it.

After speaking with Jennifer, Helga had called Olga and told her of her decision. Olga had been a little more ecstatic than Helga was.

"Oh Helga, that's wonderful!" Olga squealed. "I'll call Mommy and Daddy and we'll have dinner at their house. I'll cook."

Helga winced. "Um, Olga, I really don't think that's a good idea…"

"Nonsense. Mommy and Daddy have been asking about you and this will be the perfect time to patch up any old wounds." She said over the suddenly burst of noise. "Hold on a minute."

Helga grinned and tried not to snicker as she heard her sister arguing with her niece and nephew. "Damon, you cannot chase the dog with shaving cream! Give it here. Maddie, hand over the scissors. Now! You two go into the living room and pick out a tape. Mommy will be in there in a moment." Olga got back on the phone and Helga bit her lip to keep the grin out of her voice.

"Let me just call them, okay?" Olga pleaded. "I'll talk it over with them, then let you know what they said. Please?"

"Okay." Helga relented. "Let me know."

That conversation led her to where she was now, standing in front of the familiar brownstone that she'd once called home for eighteen years. She tried to quell the nervousness in her stomach, and briefly thought about chucking the whole thing and hiding in her hotel room until Sunday. The door opened before she could put that plan into action and her five-year-old niece stood there, a grin from ear to ear.

"Auntie Helga!" She screeched. Helga picked up the girl and hugged her.

"Hello Maddie. Is it safe to come in?"

Maddie wrinkled her nose. "Mommy's making weird food but other then that…"

Damon walked into the entryway to see what his sister was doing. He spotted Helga and grinned.  
"Mom! Aunt Helga is here!" The six year old screamed, then ran to give his Aunt a hug. Helga was just walking into the house, with two children hanging on her when Olga and her mother walked out of the kitchen.

"Could you let her get into the house first please?" Olga asked, exasperated. The two kids dropped, allowing Helga to stretch her back. Olga ran up and hugged her sister.  
"Oh baby sister! I'm glad you came."

"Well, you kind of roped me into it Olga." She sniffed. "What smells good?"

"The pot roast and baby potatoes. You know how daddy is abut his meat and potatoes."

She smiled and braced herself as she spotted her mother. "Hey Miriam."

The older lady smiled, walking towards Helga. "Oh my baby girl." She sobbed.

Helga rolled her eyes, hugging her mother. "Mom, it's okay. I…I missed you too."

Olga just smiled and skipped back into the kitchen to finish dinner.

"I was so worried about you." Miriam said, still sniffing a bit, pulling away from her youngest daughter. "Then Olga told us how you receive your Doctorate and I realized you weren't a little girl anymore." She sighed. "I remember how I used to brush you hair every night before bed."

Helga shook her head. "Mom, that was Olga."

"It was?" She looked confused. Helga sighed again.

"Never mind Mom. Let's go help Olga with dinner."

Helga stood in the doorway of the living room watching her father watch some game show. So far, the evening was going better than expected. She certainly didn't expect flowers and celebrations, but to find her mother at least sober, that was a highlight. Olga had told her that her mom had gotten help, but to actually see it was completely different.

Now, she had to face the other problem in her life. She cleared her throat.

"Hey dad? Dinner's ready."

"Huh? Oh. Is you sister here yet, Olga?"

"It's Helga dad, and yeah, I'm here."

Bob Pataki turned around in his chair and eyes his youngest daughter.

"So you are." He turned off the TV and stood up.

"So. Olga tells us you're a doctor. Got a college degree and everything."

"Yep. Kind of need one of those to be a doctor. That and a Doctorate."

"And you did it all by yourself, eh?"

"It's called a scholarship, but yeah, pretty much."

Bob studied her for a moment. Then, he smiled.

"I'm proud of you, girl."

Helga was taken aback. "Um…thanks Dad. That's means a lot."

"Eh. Come on; let's go eat dinner. Your sister's probably making her fru fru dinners again, I'll have to go out later and get some real food."

"Actually, she's making pot roast and baby potatoes."

"Pot roast, hu? Well, that's different. So, what kind of doctor are you?"

"I'm a child psychiatrist."

"A head shrinker? And people pay you for that?"

"Amazingly well too. Plus I get to prescribe medicine."

"Hm… you'll have to tell me about that sometime."

"Okay."

Helga returned to her hotel room, throwing her purse on the bed and kicking off her shoes. Dinner wasn't as bad as she would have pictured it, and it seemed as if her parents had mellowed now that there weren't kids in the house. She and Bob had even had a halfway decent conversation that hadn't crumbled into an argument. Now if the rest of the weekend went as smooth as this, she could return to Burlington feeling like she'd accomplished something. Of course she knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

An insistence knocking on her door broke her out of her thoughts. Frowning, she walked over and opened the door. Phillip stood there, his green eyes frustrated.

She opened the door further, observing him.

"So, I'm guessing you need chocolate."

He nodded, tight lipped. She nodded slowly.

"Hold on, let me get my slippers." Leaving the door open, she slid on a pair of comfy slippers, and grabbed some change out of her purse. Grabbing her card key, she slipped out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"Let go get some chocolate."

They walked down to the vending area quietly, Phillip not saying anything until they reached the enclosed room where the vending machines stood. Without even asking, she put in the money and punched the code for plain M & M's. She handed them over without a word, and then got herself a soda.

"Are all adults here rude?"

"Most of them," she answered not missing a beat. "What happened?"

The boy flopped onto the floor next to the candy machine and opened his package of candy.

"We went to this outdoor dinner tonight. With a bunch of people I didn't know, but I guess my dad went to school with. They all talked to him, and kept talking down to me like I was three years old or something. Then they all asked the same thing."

"Where your mother was." Helga confirmed. Phillip nodded.

"When my dad said I didn't have a mom, they all kept apologizing. Like she'd just died or something. She didn't die. I just never had one."

Helga took a seat on the floor next to him, her back against the wall. "Remember what I said yesterday about how people apologize in awkward situations?"

Phillip nodded.

"People have preconceived notions of how the world should work. We shouldn't, but it's things that have been ingrained in us from our parents and society. You're going to have a completely different set of ideals when you grown up because of the society you were raised in. Here, when a man walks in with a child, it's assumed that there's a wife, because there is a preconceived notion that men cannot be caretakers. If there is no female, it is assumed that she is not here or that she died. Another preconceived notion that women would not just leave their child. The mothering instinct is suppose to prevent that. But some women were not meant to be mothers. A single father from birth is awkward therefore, people apologize."

Phillip ate some of his candy silently for a bit, then looked at her. "I don't hate my mom. I don't know who she is and my dad never thought there was a reason to tell me. And until this weekend, it never really mattered. I have more than enough women from the village we live in that take care of me. The village is a big family that takes care of all the kids. I'm just a part of that family." He munched on a couple more pieces of candy.

"Dad was upset too. He said three of his closest friends hadn't shown for the picnic. He smiled and talked with everyone, but I could tell he was upset."

Helga's breath hitched in her throat. Phoebe and Gerald hadn't showed at the picnic either. And she didn't even dare to hope that the third friend was she. She'd come here for closure, not to bring up silly old obsessions for a man she didn't even know anymore.

"He's here for the class reunion, isn't he?"

Phillip nodded. Helga smiled.

"Well, there's always tomorrow's dinner. Perhaps your dad will see his friends tomorrow."

"Maybe." He stood up and she followed suit. "Thanks for the chocolate and for letting me talk." He eyed her. "Not very many people would sit down and listen to a ten year old kid talk."

"That's what I do for a living. I listen to kids when no one else will."

"Well you're good at it."

Helga grinned. "That's what my other kids tell me too."

He yawned. "Night Helga."

"Goodnight Phillip."


	5. Facing the past

She stood in front of the mirror in the bathroom looking at herself. The black pants suit she'd packed was suddenly all wrong. Images of everything that could go wrong ran through her head with alarming clarity. She took a deep breath and focused on her face in the mirror.

"You can do this." She told herself firmly. "You are better than this, you can face them, all of them. It's only one night. Not even five hours. Get through this night and you can go home tomorrow."

She kept repeating it until she believed it enough to leave the bathroom. Walking into the main room, she glanced around making sure she hadn't forgotten anything.

She'd spent the entire day finishing up paperwork and working on dictations. She'd checked up on her patients and her messages. She'd even called Jennifer for a pep talk. Hence the speech in the bathroom.

"You can do this Pataki. It's only a reunion." She told herself one last time before grabbing her purse and leaving her room to face the unknown.

She ordered a drink from the small bar then eyed the crowd. There were some people she recognized, some she didn't, and a select few that even now she would never forget. Taking a sip from her drink, she spotted Sid and Stinky in the corner talking to a group of people. By the exit, she recognized Eugene and Sheena, talking animatedly with someone she could swear was Brainy.

Rhonda, Lila and Nadine were on the reunion committee so she'd seen them milling about the center from time to time.

"Helga!" Someone screamed across the room, startling her. Blinking, she turned towards the sound to see a short, slender Asian woman running at her full force. She had barely enough time to put down her drink and brace herself before the woman pounced.

"Phoebe!" She cried happily, returning the woman's bear hug.

Happily, Phoebe broke the hug, then punched her hard in the arm.  
"Ow!" Helga exclaimed, rubbing the now sore arm. "What the hell was that for?"

"For dropping off the face of the earth and not letting me know where you were."

"Phoebe, I'm so sorry. I had to get out of Hillwood. I needed to get my mind straight."

"Did it work?" Asked the man standing beside Phoebe. Helga turned her attention to the older black man and smiled warmly.

"Hi Gerald." She said.

"What? No insults?"

She eyes his closely cropped hair. "Well, you don't look like Kid-N-Play anymore, so, no." She smiled again as he rolled his eyes.

"So, she been running you ragged?"

Gerald grinned. "I didn't know someone so small could have that much energy."

Phoebe slapped him lightly. "Hey." She turned back to Helga. "Oh! Let's sit down and I'll show you the kids."

"You two have kids?" She asked, allowing herself to be pulled along. Phoebe let her to a round table and pulled out a small book from her purse. Gerald laughed.

"Oh, you're in for it now."

Helga frowned. "Did you bring every picture you own?"

"Of course not. That could take a suitcase. These are just the basic ones." She opened the book. The first picture was that of a young teen girl with straight black hair and skin the color of caramel.

"This is our oldest, Valerie. She's fifteen now. She was thirteen in this picture." The next page showed the same girl only older standing next to a younger boy and an even younger girl.

"This was taken last month. These are all of our children. Valerie," She said pointing to the older girl. "That's Bryce. He's eleven." The grinning boy with the curly black hair and skin the color of milk chocolate. "And that's Karinna, our youngest. She's seven." The young girl with straight black hair up in two buns, her skin the same color as her sister. The youngest looked like she was pouting.

Helga smiled, as she went through the small photo album. "They're beautiful, Phoebe. Given the other half of their genetic material, I'm impressed."

Phoebe laughed. Gerald just glared playfully at her. "I think I've been insulted."

Helga shrugged. "Hey, some things have to stay the same."

A large screech from the doorway interrupted their conversation. The three turned in time to see Rhonda and Lila run towards an older blond man. Gerald stared at the man for a moment, before his face broke out in a grin.

"Holy…that's Arnold!"

Phoebe stood up, scanning the mass of blond hair still hugging the two women. "Looks like it. Go on honey."

He smiled at the two women. "I'll be right back."

Helga watched as Gerald made his way towards the front of the room. Both women had back away as Gerald approached. From this distance, she could see the blonde's face light up as he and Gerald did that silly handshake from their childhood years, and then catch each other up in a hug.

"So." Phoebe asked, watching her friend watch the two men. "Still addicted to ice cream eh?"

Helga smiled, turning her attention to the Asian woman. "You know, when I got this invitation, I called Jennifer. You remember her, Dr. Bliss?"

Phoebe frowned. "The psychiatrist you used to go to? You still talk to her?"

"She was my mentor. Anyway, she reminded me of something. Every day, I try to teach my patients about closure. Most of them have unresolved issues that need to be dealt with before they can ever get back to being healthy. She said it was time to practice what I preach."

"Good advice." Phoebe glanced up then smiled. "Let put it to the test now."

Helga's eyes widened. "What? No!"

But Phoebe was already standing up, a huge smile on her face. "If it isn't the carefree adventurer returned to mingle with his classmates." She teased. Taking a deep breath, Helga turned around in her seat. Phoebe's feet were off the ground as Arnold had picked her up in a hug. She took that time to stare at him unnoticed. Tall, muscular, tan and drop dead handsome. His blond hair was shaggy, but trimmed with a small growth of a beard on his face. His green eyes twinkled as he smiled.

"Gerald told me you brought the photo book." He said, his deep voice sending quivers down her spine. He put her down, his attention turning to the final person at the table as she stood up. Their eyes met and he froze. She managed to conjure up a smile.

"Helga?" He asked.

"Hey football head." She answered.

He grinned again, and took a step towards her. Before she could protest, he'd scooped her up in a bone-crushing hug.

"God I've missed you." He murmured in her ear. Between his voice and his scent, she actually felt herself melting in his arms. As quick as that, he let her go looking at all three of them.

"You guys don't know how much I've missed all of you." He said, sitting down at the table. Helga managed to get her wobbly legs to the chair and flopped down in it. He'd pulled the photo album over and was flipping through the pictures.

"Wow! They've grown up so much since the last pictures you've sent."

Phoebe caught Helga's eye and smiled, patting her on the leg.

Dinner went by too fast, the four of them sitting at their own table, eating and talking. She listened to Phoebe and Gerald talk about their jobs and their children, and she had her suspicions confirmed when Arnold told them about his son. During the meal she glance up periodically to see green eyes gazing at her. As they finished with dinner, Gerald put her on the spot.

"You know, we haven't seen or heard from you for almost twenty years Helga." He said. "What's going on? You married? What do you do for a living?"

Taking a calming breath, she pushed the plate away and looked at the three of them.

"No. I'm not married," she said quietly, trying to ignore the green eyes watching her from across the table. "Never found the right guy, never had time. I've spent the last fifteen years working on my doctorate."

The table was silent. "Doctorate?" Phoebe squeaked. "You're a doctor?"

Helga smirked slightly, nodding. "Dr. Helga G. Patacki, child psychiatrist."

Phoebe squealed, drawing her friend into a hug. "Oh Helga, I'm so proud of you."

Gerald looked impressed. "You actually counsel kids?"

"My theory is, you had to be a screwed up kid to help screwed up kids." She joked.

Arnold smiled knowingly, watching her. "So, you listen to the kids one else will."

Helga heart jumped into her throat for the second time that night. That was almost the same thing she'd told Phillip the night before. She faked a smile.

"Pretty much."

"I bet you're good at it." He said, his voice still quiet.

"My patients think so."

A redhead rushing towards their table interrupted their conversation. She smiled at the people, then grabbed Arnold's arm.

"Arnold, you don't mind if I steal you away for a bit. Olivia just arrived and she doesn't believe you're here."

Olivia was a friend of Lila's in high school that he'd dated for several months. He threw a pleading look to the group. Phoebe jumped in for the assist.

"Not too long Lila." She said. "The music's starting soon and he promised Helga a dance or several."

Helga shot her friend a panicked look, and then turned around to get caught in Lila's piercing gaze.

"Helga? I didn't even recognize you."

_Funny, I recognized you._ She thought irritably, pasting on her professional smile.

"I thought that was you when I signed in." She said. Lila's smile was fake as she turned her full attention on her, still not letting go of Arnold's arm.

"So, I haven't seen you since we graduated. What have you been doing?"

"I live in Birmingham, Virginia now."

"Oh. What's there?"

She smirked. "My practice."

"She's a doctor." Arnold said, beaming like a proud father. _Or boyfriend,_ her brain thought. She quickly dispelled the traitorous thought.

But apparently it jumped right into Lila's head. She glanced at the both of them, looking puzzled.

"Are you two…" she asked, using the hand that wasn't clutched onto Arnold's arm to gesture between the two of them.

"I haven't seen him in twenty years." Helga said. "When did we have time?"

He gave her a grin, and then looked back at Lila. "Ask me tomorrow."

Helga's jaw dropped. Was he flirting with her? Even Phoebe and Gerald looked stunned.

Arnold excused himself from the table and dragging along Gerald, the two men followed Lila across the room. The moment they were out of earshot, Phoebe pounced.

"What was that about? Did you two talk or something? What's going on?"

"Phoebs, when he was over here was the first time I've seen or spoken to him since graduation. Your guess is as good as mine."

The other woman sat back. "I don't know," she murmured, watching her husband and his friend across the room. "I'm pretty good when it comes to guessing games."

Sometime later, most of the tables were pushed back and the DJ started off the music. Phoebe managed to get Helga out of the dance floor for a couple of fast songs they used to dance to during their teen years. Mostly the two women reminisced over years gone by and some of the things they did and got away with.

The two men showed back up at the beginning of a slow song. Gerald smiled over at his wife.

"This was our Prom song." He mused, extending his hand. "Would you like to dance?"

Phoebe smiled, taking his hand and allowing him to lead her to the dance floor. Helga watched the two, a small smile playing on her face. Phoebe looked really happy.

Someone nudged her shoulder.

"Come dance with me."

Blinking, she glanced over at Arnold who was watching her intently.

"I'm sorry?" She asked, not really sure if she heard him correctly.

"Don't apologize," he joked, holding out his hand. "Just dance with me. Phoebe kinda told Lila I owed you a couple."

Shrugging, she held out her hand, allowing him to lead her to the floor. "Oh. So you're just doing this to save face with Lila."

He snorted. "Nope. I'm doing this so I can dance with you."

His comment left her stunned long enough for him to grab her hand, and pull her to him. They danced in silence through half the song before he jostled her.

"Loosen up. I'm not going to molest you."

_Damn,_ her emotional side thought.

"Unless, you want me to."

Stunned, her head shot up to look at him. He really did have to stop reading her mind. He looked down at her, a smirk on his face.

"See. I knew that would get your attention."

_Fine, two could play at this game_. Her emotions thought determinedly.

_No, no it can't_. Her logic screamed.

"Oh Arnold. You always had my attention." She purred. He raised an eyebrow, bemused.

"Really? See what I missed when I didn't pay attention."

"You never paid attention." She chastised.

He chuckled, pulling her closer to him. The song ended and another slow one took its place.

"Let's just stay out here for a while." He murmured against her ear. She felt her knees grow weak again.

"Okay."

The song and the scent of his aftershave or soap or whatever he was wearing was making her careless. She'd come here for closure and here she was, dancing close to slow songs with the man of her dreams.

_Okay, this could be closure_, her emotions reasoned. _Closure could just mean you have to sleep with him._

_Sleeping? No sleeping._ The logical side argued.

_Who said anything _ab_out sleeping? _Her emotions asked.

"You okay." He asked, interrupting the debate in her mind. "You got quiet all of a sudden."

"Fine." She answered, unconsciously rubbing her face against his shirt. "Just enjoying myself. Why didn't we dance at Prom?"

"Because we were young and stupid." He answered, pulling back a bit. She looked up, a slight pout on her face for being interrupted from her reminiscing. The pout disappeared when she saw how he was looking at her.

_He's going to kiss you!_ Her emotional side screamed. For once, her logical side had to agree.

Her breath caught in her throat and she stood frozen in her spot. His gaze went to her lips, then back to her eyes. He had that sexy half lidded gaze that sent her into too many long frustrated evenings in the shower when she was younger.

He moved closer to her and her eyes fluttered closed.

"Song's over you two!" Gerald called out from behind her.

"Gerald!" The accompanying screech broke them out of the trance. Blinking, they broke apart. Gerald was frowning at them both and Phoebe had one hand covering her face and the other on a death grip on Gerald's arm. Helga looked around, realizing that the tempo had picked up and the four of them were the only ones not dancing.

"Oh. I didn't even realize." Helga said, ignoring the tantrum her emotions were throwing.

Phoebe lifted her hand from her face to show a tight smile that Helga quickly recognized as her "deep shit" smile. Her grip on Gerald's arm tightened.

"Ow, babe, you're hurting me." Gerald stated, completely oblivious.

"Really? I'm so sorry."

Helga stayed for another hour or so, before realizing that the evening was quickly coming to an end. She and Phoebe had exchanged phone numbers; addresses, e-mails and promises not to let even another twenty days go past without corresponding. Saying goodbye to their classmates, the three of them walked out to the car. Arnold, unsurprisingly, was held back for a moment. But not until he made them promise not to drive off without saying goodbye outside.

Phoebe and Helga stood off to the side while Gerald went to unlock the car.

"I'm really, really sorry Helga." She said. Helga frowned.

"For what?"

"For the thing on the dance floor." She said, gesturing towards Gerald. She looked over, and then smiled at her friend.

"Look. One of the things I came here for was closure. I got it. That was just proof that it was never meant to be."

Phoebe looked skeptical. "Or maybe, it's suppose to happen on it's own terms?" She suggested.

"We've never had terms, Phoebe. It's always been all or nothing."

They heard Arnold call out as he hurried across the parking lot and the conversation stopped.

He approached them. "Sorry. Rhonda and Lila wouldn't let me out until I said goodbye to practically the entire class."

"No problem." Gerald said, joining the group. They did their little handshake, and hugged. He hugged Phoebe.

"So we'll see you tomorrow?" Gerald asked. Arnold nodded.

"Me and short stuff, breakfast, nine am sharp." He glanced over at Helga. "You coming? You can meet my son and their kids."

She smiled. "I wish I'd known. My flight leaved at ten tomorrow. I'll have to take a rain check."

Smiling, he pulled her into another hug. "I'm going to hold you to that promise." He whispered in her ear, his breath making her shiver.

Pasting a smile on her face, she hugged Phoebe and waved to Gerald as she walked towards her car. Taking one last look at the three, she slipped into her car and drove off.


	6. Closure

"So, you lived through the experience, is what you're saying?" Jennifer retorted. Helga snorted, trying to find her other slipper.

"If that's what you can call it. My logical and emotional side were in a perpetual argument all evening and then we were flirting and I think he almost kissed me."

"Hold on. You almost kissed him?"

"No. He almost kissed me. At least I think he was going to. It's been a while."

"Helga. I think you would know if a man was going to kiss you. Especially if that man was Arnold." Jennifer stated. "So, you didn't get closure."

"No. I think I did. It just proved we weren't meant to be."

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I'm going to get a soda, sleep until the alarm goes off and go back home to my nice, safe, Arnold free life."

"Well, call me when you get bored. And lay off the soda. Drink some tea instead."

"Yes Doctor." She teased, and then hung up the phone. Yawning, she grabbed her other slipper, her key card and some change and opened the door to her hotel room. Peeking around, she set out towards the vending area. It wouldn't be good if someone spotted her in her jammie pants and tank top. She slipped into the vending area, and even though logically she knew it was late, she was kind of disappointed there wasn't a blonde ten-year-old boy waiting for his nightly fix of chocolate.

Taking Dr. Bliss' advice, she skipped the soda machine and blearily looked at the coffee machine, trying to find out how to make tea. Finally, she gave up and settled on decaf coffee.

She heard footsteps behind her and grumbled under her breath. The last thing she wanted was to deal with idiots who might make a comment about her sleeping attire.

"Why am I not surprised you're the person who keeps plying my son with chocolate." A deep familiar voice said behind her. Gasping, she whirled around to see Arnold leaning against the wall of the vending room clad in well-worn jeans and a tee shirt.

"Arnold!" She gasped. "What are you…"

"Oh come on, you knew I was staying here." He teased, straightening and walking towards her.

"Okay I did," she said, recovering her composure. "But how did you know I was here."

He grinned. "Phillip." He said, still approaching her. "Only three people know that goobers are my favorite candy, so imagine my surprise when my son, who I'm not even sure would know how to work the candy machine comes back with goobers and M&M's. That's when he told me about the lady who helped him and spoke with him for a bit. He's very impressed with you, did you know that?"

"I kind of figured when he knocked on my door the next evening." She said. "But how did you really know?"

He smiled. "You introduced yourself to him. He never forgets names. Especially of people he likes."

"Damn, busted." She groused playfully. She picked up her coffee and blew on it before taking a sip.

"Your son is a great kid. Very intelligent. Reminds me of you at that age."

His smile softened. "Thanks."

"Although, it annoys the hell out of him when people apologize about his mother."

He rolled his eyes. "It annoys me too. She's never even seen him for cryin out loud."

Helga frowned, taking another sip and grimacing at the taste. "Okay, I'm guessing she had to at least see him once."

He shrugged. "Don't know. She didn't care, and I never felt that Phillip needed to know about her. In my opinion, she only did one good thing in her life and that was having Phillip and giving him to me."

"Okay. She had to have had something that attracted you to her. You weren't one of those people who just slept with people because you were bored."

He nudged her shoulder and gestured towards the floor of the room. "Let me tell you a story." He said as they sat down on the floor against the wall.

I spent years in San Lorenzo getting my Masters and interning with the anthropologists my father worked with. I met Angela five years into my stay there. She was across the campus, bullying her way through a group of people. She was loud, brash, and arrogant. She was also very opinionated. I was attracted to her immediately. It took me two years to finally be able to carry on a civil conversation with her, another year and a half before we ever went past the "just friends" stage. I thought I loved her, but there was always something missing. Some small part I could never put my finger on. I was finishing my internship and was a couple months from going out with the others to my first dig when she told me she had a problem. She was still in school working towards her Masters in government and ancient history. I persuaded her to stay in school and whatever it was; I would work with her to help her out. A week later she gives me a letter stating that we couldn't see each other again. No explanation, nothing. She was going to work as an aid in the government offices and we just couldn't be together anymore. I was devastated. A couple of weeks later, I went on my first dig and had my first experience with the green eyed people my parents always talked about."

He sighed, and rubbed the back of his head, lost in the memory.

"Almost a year later, I get a call from her, out of the blue. She says she's leaving San Lorenzo and she left something for me at the hospital. If I don't want it, she's left instructions with the Sisters there on what to do with it. Then she hangs up. Immediately, I get this sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach. I cajoled the nearest anthropologist into borrowing a jeep and rushed to the main hospital in the city. Luckily, I knew the Sisters there from both my mother and helping out on my free time during my studies. I got to the hospital and Sister Luisa ushered me in. There, in a small basket, lay Phillip. He was sleeping, and the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen." He smiled. "Sister Luisa and another nun had been guarding the baby since that morning. There'd been people who heard the rumor of the blond haired baby boy and were willing to pay top dollar for him. I picked him up and he opened his eyes. He had the greenest eyes I've ever seen. I thanked the Sisters, took him from the hospital and never looked back since."

He stopped and looked over at her. "That's what Angela did right. She gave me Phillip."

Helga frowned. "You know, I see all kinds of neglect in my profession, so it doesn't surprise me, but for people to be willing to sell a baby, that's kind of sick. You're a better person than I, Arnold."

He shrugged. "Angela was a learning experience for me. It made me reflect on why I was attracted to her in the first place and what she was missing. And I finally figured it out."

She raised an eyebrow. "So? What was wrong with her? I mean, other than the fact she's a soulless human being."

He smiled, leaning towards her.

"She wasn't you."

_Holy crackers!_ Her brain screamed. _He's going to…_

His mouth came down against hers and she froze momentarily. He adjusted his body, his mouth urging against hers. Instinct kicked out the two shocked parts of her brain and she kissed him back, her hands putting down the coffee and wrapping around his neck.

When she'd left the reunion after the almost kiss, she told Phoebe it wasn't meant to be. _If this wasn't meant to be_, she mused, _thenI didn't want what was meant for me._

He broke the kiss, gasping for breath, but his face didn't move far from hers. She watched him, trying to catch her own breath and restart her heart, which had gone into shock the moment his lips touched hers.

"Did you feel that?" He whispered, still breathing hard.

"I'm not sure what I felt." She answered him, just as breathlessly. His eyes flicked open and upwards catching her in his gaze.

"I do. And you do too." He lifted his head slightly, his gaze resting a moment on her lips. Helga felt her breath quicken again.

"That spark. We've always had that. I was just too stupid to realize it until it was too late." He said, his voice low. His eyes left her mouth to catch her gaze again. A small smile graced his lips.

"You've always known haven't you?"

She nodded hesitantly, unable to speak. His head came down again, kissing her fiercely. She responded in kind, her emotions on overdrive and her instinct firmly in the driver's seat.

_Hold it!_ The logical side screamed, finally pushing its way to the surface. _This is all fine and…really good, but he's going back to San Lorenzo. There are long distance relationships, and then there are long distance relationships._

This time she broke the kiss, trying to catch her breath. "Wait." She gasped.

He watched her, waiting.

"We can't do this."

He frowned. "Why not?"

"You live in San Lorenzo. It's completely different country, and not one to get to easily if memory serves."

A small smile crept onto his face. "You read up on San Lorenzo?"

"That's not the point. This isn't going to go anywhere. I'm going back to my home in about" she looked at her watch. "Eleven hours or so, and you're going back to your home sometime this week. Both of which are way too many miles away to continue anything that may start here."

"Helga…"

She stood up. "Look, Arnold for the first time in my life, I'm going to willingly tell you something personal. I came to this reunion for closure. The reason I left so suddenly after high school is because I needed a fresh start. I wasn't going to get anywhere in Hillwood because everyone knew me as Big Bob Pataki's insane younger daughter. And there were other reasons I need to leave. Almost all of them involving you." She began pacing, not bearing to look at him. "You were right. We've always had something. And I've always known. It tore me up inside that you didn't too. So that's why I left. When I received the invitation, Jennifer talked me into going. I never had closure with you so that's why I came. To get some kind of closure for myself, so I could go back home and finally end that part of my life." She sighed, rubbing her arms. "That closure never included kissing you in the vending area of the hotel. I'm not getting any closure this way. A couple of other things, yeah, but not closure."

She felt hands slide up her arms, and gently turn her. Arnold looked down at her.

"You…felt something for me in high school?" He asked.

She just stared open mouth at him. "You really were that dense in high school, weren't you? I…had a thing for you as far back as grade school."

"Really?" He inquired. He shook his head. "Wait, that's in the past. We need to talk about now."

"What about it? I've already told you…"

"But what I didn't tell you is that I'm thinking of leaving San Lorenzo."

Helga was stunned. "What? But that's been your dream since…what about Phillip? That's the only life he's known."

"I can't do anything else there. And it's time for Phillip to live like every other ten-year-old boy. He's given up enough for me for long enough. He and I have already spoken about it at length. That was one of the other reasons I came to the reunion. I'd spoken to Gerald about it for a while and I wanted to make absolutely sure that he and Phoebe didn't have any problems putting us up for a while until we get on our feet."

"So, you'll be in Hillwood…"

"By the middle of next year at the latest." He smiled. "Is that closer than San Lorenzo?"

"Well, I guess we could work around it." She agreed.

He grinned, and then kissed her again. She couldn't believe she was agreeing to this. There were a million and a half things that could go wrong with this.

He broke the kiss and urged her to sit back down. "Come on. Let's talk."

"…So I ended up dumping the entire contents of the bucket on my head and telling the assistant Dean it was a sorority pledge and I was really sorry and totally didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. He bought it, and let me off with a stern warning to watch who I was pledging to."

Arnold was laughing out loud, holding his sides. Helga took a sip of the fresh hot coffee, smiling at his laughter.

"Oh that's better than the time Sid, Gerald, and Stinky almost got caught trying to reinvent that locker room scene from Porky's."

"Wait, that was you?"

"Hey, I never said I did it. But Gerald was my friend, of course I knew about it."

"Rhonda was in that class."

"Why do you think they did it?"

She chuckled as he sipped his coffee. "So. How did they get caught?"

"You don't know? It had to do with you and Phoebe."

"Nope, must have missed this story."

"Well, the way Gerald tells it, the guys were in the space and…"

"Dad?" A sleepy voice down the hall interrupted the story. They frowned at each other, as Arnold put down his coffee and got up to peek around the corner. Moments later, a pajama clad ten-year-old boy walked into the vending room, still rubbing his eyes. He spied Helga sitting on the floor and stopped.

"Hi Helga."

"Hi Phillip. What are you doing up so late?"

The boy frowned. "Late? It's morning." He looked up at his dad, then back down to Helga who was checking her watch.

"Do you two know each other?"

"Yep. We're old friends. This was the other person that didn't show for the picnic."

"Holy…" Helga exclaimed. She scrambled up, looking at Arnold. "It's six-thirty in the morning!"

"What?" He walked over, grabbing her wrist to look at her watch. "We've been out here all evening?"

The two looked at each other amused. Phillip's attention kept going from one to the other.

"This is the friend you kept talking about?" He asked. Arnold turned his attention to his son.

"What? Oh yes, this is the friend."

Helga smirked. "So, you're talking about me to your son?" She teased. He shrugged.

"I may have mentioned you once or twice." He admitted.

"Did dad tell you we were moving to the States?" Phillip asked. Helga nodded, turning her attention to him.

"He did. After this weekend, what do you think?"

Phillips looked thoughtful. "It could be interesting."

"It's much more different than the life you're used to in San Lorenzo." She told him.

"I'll get to see you again though, won't I?"

Helga smiled. "You can come see me any time you want. Or better yet, I gave your dad my phone number earlier this evening. You can call anytime you like."

Phillip smiled. "Great. Dad says we'll be back in about a year."

"That's what he told me as well."

"We'd better end this." Arnold said, taking his son by the shoulders. "We have to get ready to go to Phoebe and Gerald's for breakfast and Helga has a plane to catch."

Phillip frowned. "You aren't going to breakfast?"

"I didn't know. If I'd known, I would have gotten a later flight. But I promised next time."

Phillip smiled brightly. "Okay. It was very nice meeting you."

"You also, Phillip."

"See you later."

Arnold handed him the key card. "Here. Go back to the room and get your stuff ready. You need a bath. I'll be there in a minute."

Phillip gave his father a dubious look, and then glanced over at Helga who was trying her best to appear innocent. "Okay."

He waited until he heard footsteps go down the hall, and then turned his attention back to the blond.

"Walk you back to your room?"

"Okay."

They left the vending area and walked the short walk down the hall to her room.

"I told you he'd be okay with moving."

He isn't fully in the States yet." She said. "There's a huge difference between visiting and staying."

"He'll like it. No matter where we live."

"You aren't moving back to Hillwood?"

"We're staying there after we move back to the States." He said. "But I'm not sure if that's were we'll be permanently. You see, there's this girl. And I kind of want to see how things go with her first before I make any decisions."

"You're being pretty optimistic, basing where you're going to live on reciprocations of a girl." Helga teased.

"Well, I have this nasty problem of being a perpetual optimist." He said, leaning in closer. "And I think she's worth it."

Her emotions were doing a happy dance while her logical side stood there mouth agape. He took that opportunity to kiss her.

"So, can I call you later tonight?" He asked after breaking the kiss. Since her emotional and logical sides were still occupied, instinct took over again.

"Yes." She said, snapping out of her trance. "You can definitely call me tonight."

"Great. Because you know, Phoebe is going to have some long term questions for you."

"Oh crimany!" She exclaimed, remembering her best friend's observations the night before.

"Have a safe trip." He said, stepping away from her. She mentally slapped herself to keep from following.  
"Thanks. I'll talk to you tonight."

He nodded, then turned and walked off down the hall. Helga opened the door and leaned against the frame, watching him walk off.

_Damn,_ her emotion side observed giddily, _That's ours? We got lucky._

Her logical side agreed. She waited until he walked into his room, watching him blush when he realized what she was doing, before walking into her own room, a thousand watt grin on her face.

She'd finally gotten her closure. Although sometimes closure meant a new door was opened. She began packing; she could always sleep on the plane. Something told her once she got home, there would be a whole set of new changes in her life. And she would face them happily.


End file.
